The Doctrine of Total Depravity
by
Roger Smalling, D.Min
This article corresponds to the book
available at Amazon Kindle
In recent years, some theologians have proposed the term total inability to refer to the concept of total depravity. This avoids giving the impression we think people are as bad a demons.
Total depravity, does not mean sinners are as wicked as possible nor even want to be. Man has not fallen to the level of demons. This would be utter depravity. We believe GodŐs benevolence prevented man from falling to those depths.
By total, we mean all human faculties, including free will, are infected by sin and under its domination.
By depravity we mean nothing in a sinner is acceptable to God, including good works or virtues because these originated in a corrupted source...manŐs sinful heart.
Total depravity means the sinner is unable to will or do anything to convert himself to Christ or prepare himself for conversion because of the controlling power of sin. Only a miracle of God through the gospel can enable the sinner to choose Christ.
Implications
This doctrine is wonderfully interesting because it touches on elements of human nature such as free will, the mind and perceptions. Moreover, total depravity intertwines with other biblical teachings like the fall of Adam, regeneration and election.
However, the terminology could be misunderstood. Some may assume God is the source of the inability when, in fact, it is the corruption of man. Depravity or inability are interchangeable as terms, though both require explanation.
We recommend total depravity to counterbalance the current influence of humanism that asserts manŐs innate goodness. It strikes deliberately at pride and self-righteousness. In view of biblical teaching about manŐs sinfulness, this term seems appropriate.
The issue: Did Adam fall beyond his ability to believe and repent on his own initiative? The two main branches of theology, Reformed and Arminian,[1] differ sharply on this point.
The Arminian view claims God stopped the fall short of the point where man would lose the ability to generate faith, love and repentance out of his own free will. The Reformed view sees man as fallen beneath that point. We will examine the evidence.
First Evidence: The Fall of Mankind, Romans Chapter Five
Paul describes the fall of Adam in Romans Chapter Five. The word Adam means mankind in Hebrew. He mentions four things we inherit from Adam: Sin, death, judgment and condemnation.
No human faculty escaped these effects. This includes manŐs will. Paul did not find it necessary to single out the will of man in order to show it too became enslaved by sin. He demonstrates through the text that the entire human organism is fallen.
Second Evidence: Spiritual Death, Ephesians Chapter Two
As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of
this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at
work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of
our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we
were by nature objects of wrath.
Eph. 2:1-3
Paul apparently alludes to the divine threat to Adam in Genesis 2:17 ...for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Though Adam did not die physically that day, he died spiritually in his relationship with God and in his own ability to obey Him. Paul describes this as a true enslavement. Notice his wordsÉ
á Following the conduct of the world.
á Controlled by Satan.
á Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. (Greek literally: doing the will of the flesh. This means the flesh determines the condition of the will. The term mind here, NOOS includes perceptions.) Paul alludes to the perceptions of the mind as controlled by sin so the mind perceives the lusts of the flesh as preferable. The will follows suit.
á A nature deserving the wrath of God.
The intent of the passage is to show why a sinner is no more able to escape from his condition than a dead man can resurrect himself.
Third Evidence: Effect of Sin on the Mind
Scripture depicts the mind as enslaved and controlled by sin and Satan. We can deduce this includes the will since the will is a function of the mind.
The natural man cannot perceive the things of God
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1Cor. 2:14
Satan has blinded the mind of unbelievers
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, 2Cor. 4:4
Their understanding is darkened
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of GodÉEph. 4:18
The carnal mind is unable to submit to the law of God
Éthe sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to GodŐs law, nor can it do so. Rom. 8:7
The sinnerŐs will is bound by the devil
Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2Tim. 2:25-26
The mind of the sinner has a perception problem the Bible expresses as darkness or blinded. The devil controls the sinnerŐs will by controlling his perceptions. The sinner perceives the things of God as foolish because he is blinded to his own moral condition.
Fourth Evidence: The Carnal Nature, Romans 3:9-20
Paul addresses the condition of all unsaved people as being under sin, meaning under the power of sin.
Without Christ, there is noÉ
á Righteous person. Even the good works of the unsaved are as filthy rags, unacceptable to God.[2]
á Sinner who understands his own moral condition. Here, the Greek term understand refers to insight. None have spiritual insight into their condition without Christ, although they may understand the fundamentals of the gospel.
á Seeker after God. Religious types are in fact seeking to establish their own righteousness. Romans 10:3
á Sinner who does good. The New Testament defines good as obedience to God. Sinners do good works to substitute GodŐs requirement, rather than as a sign of their submission to Him. All the works of sinners, however good in themselves, proceed from a corrupted source, his sinful nature. If a sinner really wanted to be good, he would do the first thing God commands him to do...repent and believe in Jesus.
á Sinner who fears God. If they truly feared Him, they would seek to please Him.
á Sinner at peace. Drowning themselves in pleasures is a false peace.
Paul is talking about sinners before God draws them through the gospel. When God draws a sinner, his perceptions change. Occasionally we encounter a sinner who says he is seeking God. This could be sincere. God may be drawing them by opening their perceptions through the gospel.
Conclusion
From the weight of biblical evidence, we conclude the unsaved cannot will or do anything to contribute to their salvation or prepare themselves for conversion. Their own will chooses wrongly because their perceptions are blinded by sin and controlled by Satan. Therefore they perceive themselves as good, the things of the Spirit as foolishness, and God as not worth seeking. They see no reason to fear God and think their lack of peace is due to a lack of pleasures.
From this article we learn:
á Without God working through the gospel, sinners are unable to will or do anything to contribute to their salvation.
á Through AdamŐs fall mankind inherited sin, death, judgment and condemnation.
á Sin and Satan blind the mind of man, including his perceptions and will, so he cannot choose submission to God.
á The carnal nature of man contains no quality that could lead him to obey God.
á None of the good works of a sinner are ultimately good because they are generated from a corrupted source, his carnal nature.
á Sinners will do good works of all sorts. Without grace, the one thing they will not do is repent and believe the gospel.
Smalling's articles and books are available at www.smallings.com